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Effective communication between managers and employees in any
company, and especially in a startup with a small staff, is
crucial. But in some cases, managers may not fully understand
some employees' skill sets or the benefit to be derived from
their work. One way to bridge the gap is to admit when your
comprehension is lacking. Think that will show weakness? Your
employees are probably already aware of your ignorance. "People
know when you don't understand their skill set, even if they'd
never admit it," says serial entrepreneur Matthew Toren.

Your job as a manager is to be able to critique their work
constructively as a non-specialist. By having an employee walk
you step-by-step through what would be required to implement a
project, says Toren, "you'll learn more about their process and
your employee will learn that you care about their talent."
More: Managing a Growing
Startup? 4 Ways to Keep Your Criticism Constructive

Not all countries are created equal.
When it comes to doing business abroad, some countries are more
likely to give you a fair shake than others. Watchdog NGO
Transparency International released the latest version of its
annual Corruption Perceptions Index this week, and the big
takeaway is that the Scandinavian countries have some of the
lowest levels of public sector corruption in the world. New
Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Canada also made a good
showing. Less salutary environments for business include Italy,
Mexico and the Philippines. Unless you have a high tolerance for
risk, Entrepreneur.com's recommendation is simple: Go north,
young man. More: The 10 Most Corrupt
and Least Corrupt Countries in the World

Client service is even more important than you
think.
Even in his first job as a high-school junior working at a J.C.
Penney department store, Jim Joseph learned the importance of
good client service. "I learned to laugh with my customers,
listen to their stories and instill the trust that I was going to
take care of them," says Joseph, the North American president of
New York-based communications agency Cohn & Wolfe and the
author of The Personal Experience Effect (Happy About,
2013). "These are similar emotions to what my clients to this day
need from me." Another valuable lesson: how to interact with
clients of diverse backgrounds and adapt to their needs.
More: 5 Important Business
Lessons I Learned From My First Job

When writing, don't mix up your mediums.
It's often said that the medium is the message. In 2013, we have
more communication mediums than ever before, and if you want to
get your message across you should tailor it to the medium you're
using, says Steve Tobak, a managing partner of Invisor
Consulting, a Silicon Valley-based management consulting firm. As
an example, "phrases and bullets are fine for some mediums but
not acceptable for others," he says. Blog posts, tweets,
Powerpoint presentations and prepared speeches each require a
different tone, format and style than the rest. More:
9 Steps to
Becoming a Great Writer

Write your tweets with retweets in mind.
Social media is a viral medium, so it's a smart move to compose
your tweets in such a way that others feel compelled to interact
with them. "By writing content from a consumer's perspective, you
can increase engagement," says Branden Hampton, who runs the
@notebook account. While it may not be
on-brand for you to share the sort of lovey-dovey messages
that @notebook specializes in, you should think about tweeting
quotes and photos that your target audience will want to
share. More: 5 Steps to
Supercharging Engagement on Twitter